News and views of Constance Cumbey concerning "Radical Middle", New Age Movement, Communitarianism, "planetary humanism," "global governance," European Union, Javier Solana, Jeremy Rifkin, "New Age Politics," law in the USA, combined with life in general -- sometimes humorous, sometimes not!

For those of you rising and cheered by TODAY SHOW or other coverage of positive "world peace announcements" on the progress of North Korea in allegedly dismantling nuclear facilities, hold on to your cheers and seatbelts. Rev. Moon, the self-proclaimed "Lord of the Second Advent" has long been courting North Korea for his permanent base -- a country he hopes to totally control. He has profitable manufacturing operations there. This is amply documented in John Gorenfeld's important new book, BAD MOON RISING. The Bush family has received millions from Moon in speaker's fees to Bush the Elder. Younger brother, Neil Bush has entangled business interests with Moon related persons. Prominent "former" Moonie Josette Sheeran was nominated and pushed by the Bush adminstration to lead the United Nations World Food Programme. She now heads it. Her executive offices are in Rome. You may rightly assume that if Rev. Moon had perceived her as an "apostate" and opposed her nomination she would not be there. You may further rightfully assume that her ascension was a payback to Rev. Moon for past favors!

If anybody truly believes that the new head of the World Food Programme, Josette Sheeran is truly free of Unification Church, and "Father" Sun Myung Moon, I have a bridge to sell them: Brooklyn or Chappaquiddick, take your pick!

In December 1983, a very key Moon operative, Joseph Tully, Executive Director of CAUSA, USA admitted to me they were working with "Maitreya the Christ" proponent Benjamin Creme. He further VOLUNTEERED to me that they were working with Tara Center, the organizational name under which Creme then did business. As of late, he has used the organization "Share International." What Josette Sheeran is urging and advancing sounds so very much like typical pronouncements from that group.

I am working up an article for NewswithViews.com on this subject which I will also post here. Big bad things are definitely happening. Stay tuned!

Interactive graphic (poll) on American religious beliefs in USA Today. It's part of article titled "More have dropped dogma for spirituality".

http://tinyurl.com/5wvf45

The article speaks to the link someone provided last week to a discussion about the Joshua Generation and votes for Senator Obama. It also speaks to our overall move towards an amorphous spirituality versus distinct dogmatic beliefs. Hans Kung and his move towards a "global ethic" has certainly been effective.

Since the Second Vatican Council, Hans Kung has done a lot of damage - not only to the Roman Catholic Christian communion, but also to the non-Roman Catholic Christian communions as well.

In terms of his "historico-critical Scriptural exegesis - which, in many instances, is neither historical nor critical (critical = "carefully balanced judgement") - he has cleverly weasel-worded certain passages of the Scriptures in such a way as to place the divinity of Christ in doubt - after which, he then sought to spread his neo-Arian plague vis a vis a species of false "ecumenism" which was never intended by the Council for which he was supposed to have served as a "peritus" (advisor).

He was rightly deprived of his "missio canonica" - authorization to teach Catholic theology - on December 18, 1979.

In 2007, he received a Masonic award (surprise, surprise) for his entire life's work.This award is strange, given the fact that Catholics who join freemasonic organizations are in "a state of grave sin" and "may not receive Holy Communion."

Here is at least an indirect close tie between Javier Solana and the Moonie interests. This link will show you a Moonie sponsored event (Washington Times) at the George H. W. Bush Presidential library. Felipe Gonzalez, the former Prime Minister of Spain, with whom Solana was closely associated for all of his career is prominently shown. Gonzalez is also active with the Club of Madrid.

At least the Catholics excommunicated those making common cause with Moon. Jerry Falwell, Don Sills, at times Hal Lindsey, Tim and Bev LaHaye, Pastor Sileven, Pastor Greg Dixon, and so many others in the Evangelical/Fundamentalist Protestant worlds were taking his money and either endorsing him, or requiring silence about him!

I don't get it. She wants to end hunger, says that we can eliminate hunger in our lifetime, and all you see is darkness. Why are you afraid? Who cares if she was roman catholic or a member of the unification church? What difference does that make? Do you care at all about the billion (or more) people on the planet who go hungry every day? Or do your fear-based conspiracy theories shield you from compassion?

Enjoyed your radio show last Friday (had not realized that "Rev." Moon had insisted on bloodless doctrine and removal of crosses in Christian fellowships that accepted money from his org., thereby calling into question their "Christian" status, imho).

You might be interested in Dr. Solana's 6/30 activities as it appears that members of the U.K. House of Lords are traveling to Brussels to meet with him:

The Rider on the Black Horse seems to be doing his thing -- at least that's how it sounds to us in the Detroit metropolitan area today. Trip digit decline in stock market. GM stock at 33 year low! I heard the word "depression" -- not "recession" used by a local commentator. Rumors that Chrysler might file for Chapter 11 protection -- pray it is not true.

Some time ago someone asked what information I had contributed to this blog. The story that Constance has just linked to has many coments following it. The many comments I made are an example of what I've contributed over the years.

Those new to Moonie information might want to look at the links I posted there.

I am only here to learn and to share information with my fellow Christians.

Even before Milingo hooked up with Moon, he was in trouble with the Vatican.

The reason why Milingo was called to Rome in 1983 in the first place was because of his performance of exorcisms and healing practices which were unapproved by the Church.....a sort of syncretistic mixing of African pagan "witchcraft" traditions with Roman Catholicism._____________________________

" His critics charge that the Archbishop is inventing his own exorcism rituals, though, which are rooted more in African witchcraft than the traditional, sanctioned rites of the Catholic Church. Pope John Paul II was an early supporter, and described the Archbishop as a "lightning rod for the devil." As Milingo continued to incorporate prayer healing spectacles and other theatrics into his exorcism routine, though, he fell from grace with the Vatican and was eventually stripped of his ecclesiastical title. Priests in Zambia accused him of engaging in "black magic," and Milingo eventually found himself the subject of a formal church inquiry and even a round of psychiatric examinations." ...read more...

http://tinyurl.com/5278x6

Milingo seems to have been the source for the late Father Malachi Martin's allegations about "satanic" activity occurring at the Vatican. I never saw any evidence that would convince me beyond a reasonable doubt that this was true. It seems more likely that Milingo was little more than a disgruntled prelate whose revenge consisted in accusing others of doing some of the very things he was doing himself!

http://tinyurl.com/4n344m

Unfortunately, Father Malachi Martin seems to have wandered off the Catholic reservation into schism territory (Sedevacantism) and took part in the illicit ordination of the late Rama Coomeraswamy, a proponent of "Perennialism" like his father Ananda Coomeraswamy and gnostic "bishop" Rene Guenon.

Milingo & Co. may be involved in the schism that has recently occurred at St. Stanislaus Kostka in St. Louis Missouri - followed by the excommunication of the so-called "St. Stan Six" and Father Marek Bozek by Archbishop Raymond Burke.

http://tinyurl.com/5eopz2

http://reform-network.net/?p=1749

If it were not for the fact that it would take up too much space, I could write you a book about all these critters.

Susanna, somewhere in my stack of boxes I have a list which showed who in real life corresponded with the individuals in the book Windswept House. Let's just say Bernardin was ahead of his time in the changes that are now taking place. From Catholic friends of mine it appeared that Bernardin was on the hot list for being the next Pope at the time. He did a wonderful Pope act.

I apppreciate your noticing my comments. The nature of learning about New Age through a blog is that people jump in the stream at various times not knowing what has been discovered in the past.

From what I've seen, there is an academic stream which researches the "spiritual" end of the New Age movement , but it isn't open to those not in the academic field.

I not only own and have read WINDSWEPT HOUSE, but I also have read most of Malachi Martin's other books.

The Cardinal of Century City is generally known among Catholics who have read Malachi Martin's books to have been Cardinal Joseph Bernardin.

Father Martin is said to have used a "degree of literary license" in WINDSWEPT HOUSE. In fact, his account of the Charleston activities allegedly involving Bernardin is redolent of the Taxil Hoax of the 19th Century.

However, a more credible account of Bernardin's Charleston years and other biographical details is given in Randy Engel's RITE OF SODOMY. An excerpt is to be found here:

Acceptance of political contributions from questionable, or corrupt sources has it’s own well understood purpose and sometimes even deadly consequences. The more influential and powerfulthe source, the more is expected in return for monetary favors.

The fact that there are some Conservative talk show hosts, political pundits, and religious, politically motivated individuals who regularly site the The Washington Times does raise questions, though, to draw a conclusion as to the reason, would only be speculating. It is certainly interesting to examine the history of Moon and the Unification Church, over the past 40 or so years and note the high level access he has been given not only in the US, but the world at large. This includes Democrats and Republicans. Religious Right and Political Left. The video was very interesting to watch, humorous too!Sun Myung Moon, and what he teaches and believes covers much more than some whacked-out “free sex is centered on satan” theology. His “spirituality” and “Divine Principle” are 100% in harmony with every organization and individual we are scrutinizing here.I am very concerned about the Rev. Moon’s influenceand ties to more recent events and organizations. An example would be the June 16, 2008UN symposium convened by Moon’s Universal Peace Federation (UPF) -Rudi

http://tinyurl.com/4wr2bg

Additional information about the works, teaching, life of Sun Myung Moon is on his Home page:

What are fear anxiety and excessive sadness but "faith in the devil?" (2Tim 1:7)

Ergo, I find that laughter - after prayer - is really one of the best ways to deal with "the prowde spirite who cannot endure to be mocked." (St. Thomas More)

Isn't God in control of history? Isn't history "His-Story?" In the end, will God not "laugh them (the wicked) to scorn?" In fact, are we not given permission in the Book of Revelations to "make merry over Babylon?"

The Washington Times became influential because it is the only newspaper tht purports to give a conservative point of view. Moon saw an opportunity to influence and filled it. It is as simple as that. He seems, "with a little help from his friends" to have spotted opportunities, ignored morals, and jumped on them. For a while the Times could be gotten of the newsstand in Chicago, but it didn't have enough of a following to sustain that. During the time the paper was available, I saw no overt religious message which would have put me on guard and I picked it up every day at a Chicago newstand.

The book, Inside the League, details Moon's connection with the World Anti-Communist League. The most common charges against the organization are correctly that he has corrupted the religious right in this country. The connections with the left are not as clear except for the connection with the UN.

http://middle-east-online.com/ENGLISH/opinion/?id=25678 or http://tinyurl.com/5db7wo is quite a long article on Moon's organization which points out the uses of his organization for drug smuggling and intelligence operations.

What might be a good discussion here is how, if possible, readers feel Moon has influenced the individuals who support religious right organizations over these past years. Would the New Age movement have been exposed by major religious right organizations if there was no Moon influence?

There is no doubt that anyone associated with Moon's network is morally corrupted by compromising. What can individuals do after they learn about this network of evil. That's the harder question. Should we write letters? Should we drop memberships? Are there any suggestions for the hear and now? Or is it a matter of pray and wait for the messiah to make everything better? If so, why not stop learning and just enjoy life?

Whether it is always true or not, there is an old saying to the effect that "all heresy begins below the belt."

Moon's latest endeavors over the past few years has been to cultivate ties with African-American religious leaders....most recently excommunicated Archbishop Emmanuel Milingo who ditched his solemn vows of celibacy in May, 2001 in order to marry a Korean woman chosen for him by Moon in a mass Moon wedding ceremony in New York.

http://tinyurl.com/4snpwc

What many are not aware of is the fact that another excommunicated African American Roman Catholic clergyman was married during the same May, 2001 ceremony. His name is George Stallings and heads up the Imani Temple.._________________________"Also among those married was former Catholic priest George Stallings of Washington, who was excommunicated in 1990 for creating the breakaway African American Catholic Congregation, of which he is now archbishop.Stallings, 53, married Sayomi Kamimoto, 24, a staff assistant in New York for the Unification Church.

http://tinyurl.com/3s6or4

http://tinyurl.com/4t8q8h

In fact, Stallings organized the following 2004 Congressional reception, "in which Moon declared himself the Messiah and said his teachings have helped Hitler and Stalin be "reborn as new persons." :

http://tinyurl.com/2kanx

It was Milingo who consecrated Stallings - probably "sub conditione" because of Stallings successional ties to the Old Catholic Church:_____________________________

"Archbishop Milingo recently disclosed that he had received an urgent communication from the Congregation for Bishops, warning that he could face severe disciplinary action if he continued to defy the Holy See. Nevertheless, he proceeded with the unauthorized ordination of four men, including Stallings, at the latter's church in Washington.

The four newly ordained bishops claim affiliation with the "Synod of Old Catholic Churches," a group that has no connection with the Holy See."

http://tinyurl.com/qrdev

The thing that is most important about the "Old Catholic Church" in terms of connections to the occult is its successional ties to the "Gnostic Catholic Church" - vis a vis the Vilatte succession and "Bishop" Jean Bricaud. It was Bricaud who consolidated all the major gnostic entities of the late 19th century under his gnostic "umbrella" church.

Here is some biographical material on Milingo and Stallings for those who are not familiar with the people being discussed:

http://tinyurl.com/3xqfqm

"GEORGE AUGUSTUS STALLINGS JR. (born March 17, 1948) is best known as the founder of the Imani Temple African-American Catholic Congregation, an African American led form of Catholicism. He had been a Catholic priest, but made a public break with the Roman Catholic Church on the Phil Donahue show in 1989 and was excommunicated the next year. He states he left because the Church did not serve the African American community or recognize talent. Critics claimed he had lived extravagantly and had been asked to seek psychiatric help.[1]

He has regained attention recently due to his association with Married Priests Now! and Emmanuel Milingo.

http://tinyurl.com/6mlomt

IMANI TEMPLE AFRICAN-AMERICAN CATHOLIC CONGREGATION

http://tinyurl.com/52nn8v

MARRIED PRIESTS NOW!http://tinyurl.com/5bnvk2

CONCERNS ABOUT STALLINGS LIFESTYLE FUELED CONFLICT

By Laura Sessions Stepp and Bill DedmanWashington PostApril 30, 1990

After his days sorting mail at a D.C. law firm, 22-year-old Derek Edwin Brown liked to go dancing in gay clubs. His favorite was Tracks DC, near the Washington Navy Yard. There, one night in April 1987, he met an older man.

"We talked for a while and exchanged numbers," Brown said. "I didn't know anything about him -- just a guy named George."

The guy named George was a Roman Catholic priest, the Rev. George Augustus Stallings Jr.

Brown, now 25, said he and Stallings, 42, were lovers for the next two years, during which time he lived in Augustus Manor, the priest's house in Anacostia. For nine months of that time, Stallings employed Brown as a pastoral assistant at St. Teresa of Avila parish. Brown and other employees said that much of the time he was out of the parish on trips with Stallings.

Brown and Stallings were consenting adults, but Stallings was sworn to celibacy in a church that considers homosexual activity a sin. Brown said Stallings knew parishioners were whispering about their relationship. "It bothered him, but all people could do was insinuate," Brown said. "He didn't think it would catch up with him."...read more...

http://tinyurl.com/484q99

Moon's relationship with Kim Jong Il of North Korea is interesting._____________________________

North Korean Cash

Moon, who has the status of a U.S. permanent resident alien, has skirted other federal laws, including prohibitions on financial relations with the hard-line communist government of North Korea.

Despite Moon’s history of extreme anti-communism, Moon began spreading money around inside North Korea – much as he has in other countries – while seeking business advantages during the first Bush administration, according to U.S. intelligence documents.

U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency documents, which I obtained under a Freedom of Information Act request, showed Moon’s organization paying millions of dollars to North Korean leaders. The payments included a $3 million “birthday present” to current communist leader Kim Jong Il and offshore payments amounting to “several tens of million dollars” to the previous communist dictator, Kim Il Sung, the partially declassified documents said.

Yet, in the 1990s, while Moon was passing out money, North Korea was scrambling for the resources to develop missiles and other advanced weaponry, including a nuclear weapons capability. Moon’s activities attracted the attention of the Defense Intelligence Agency because it is responsible for monitoring potential military threats to the United States.

Moon negotiated one North Korean business deal in 1991, after face-to-face meetings with Kim Il Sung, the longtime communist leader, the DIA documents said.

“These talks took place secretly, without the knowledge of the South Korean government,” the DIA wrote on Feb. 2, 1994. “In the original deal with Kim [Il Sung], Moon paid several tens of million dollars as a down-payment into an overseas account,” the DIA said in a cable dated Aug. 14, 1994.

The DIA said Moon's organization also delivered money to Kim Il Sung's son and successor, Kim Jong Il..........read more....a must read...

http://tinyurl.com/ozk9q

Interesting also is the Moon - Falwell connection which consisted of a financial bailout of the Falwell enterprise:

http://tinyurl.com/ozk9q

Here in Massachusetts where I live, the Moonies nearly took over the coastal city of Gloucester:______________________

"In a series of speeches in the 1970s and early '80s, Moon outlined his dream of dominating the US fishing industry with a vast enterprise that would fund his church and feed the world. Church members then quietly began to purchase boat-building plants and establish fishing industries in Hawaii, Alaska, Louisiana, and the classic American fishing town of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

This was just part of Moon's grandiose empire-building activities. Over the years, he reportedly has become a billionaire thanks to the thousands of private businesses and nonprofits his followers have launched nationwide. According to Bromley and others who follow the church's business dealings, its members' private companies have helped fund nonprofit organizations such as the Pure Love Alliance, a pro-chastity, anti-abortion, anti-gay group. "He has created an international corporate empire that in essence is used to fund the religious outreach," Bromley said."

http://tinyurl.com/55wrov

More on Moon:

This is like a "MOONIES 101" article:

http://tinyurl.com/4g4pbx

"The Reverend Sun Myung Moon, founder of The Washington Times, has abandoned anti-Communism and fully embraced the United Nations. According to the Times, which uncritically highlighted Moon's remarks in a page two story on January 28, Moon called the U.N. "a temple of peace" and said religions should work with it to "solve global problems."

Moon received a "Universal Peace Award" at the U.N., has called for a U.N.-based religious body, and has declared, "As long as America sticks with its nationalistic pride it will never be able to embrace the world." On January 12, Moon spoke of how U.N. non-governmental organizations "can represent all humanity -- through which God can come and reign."

Moon's turn toward the U.N. could reflect his belief that the U.N. could help protect his global business dealings in China, North Korea and Vietnam. "The Moon connection to North Korea is most striking," Cliff Kincaid of America's Survival, Inc. said. "Moon met with and was extremely close to North Korean dictator Kim Il-Sung, whose successor and son, Kim Jong-Il, gave Moon a birthday gift." (30).....read more....

http://tinyurl.com/5cyhfa

This is the Daily Kos spin. It's surprising what you can learn here.

"Neil Bush is traveling with Sun Myung Moon, here's what they are doing."

LOL! The article points out that while everyone is yapping about George Soros, here is Moon spending money in ways that makes Soros' spending look like a "drop in the bucket."_______________________

"Two things remain at the top of my wonderlist. One is why, given the historical fact that Moon easily outspent Scaife propping up hard right politics in the USA with BILLIONS of dollars over the last 30 years, given that Moon provided front groups and guidance to the new right, and has funded the "religious" right and literally played a huge role in creating, molding, designing the new conservative movement we see around us today - given all that, why, when blowhard uniformed hypocrites like Oreily squawk about UNITED STATES CITIZEN Soros donating to a liberal causes, why don't liberals stuff Moon down their throats? O'Reily, Coulter, Rush, Hannity, Savage, Hume, all of them should go on FOX and bow to Moon, he brought them to power. No Moon No one like Bush is president, that is for sure.

Biblical sized blindness in its depth and scope.

Next time someone posts about Soros and his drop in the bucket money compared to Moon's spent on the right, please post this chart."....read the rest of the article...

http://tinyurl.com/6d6a5k

Here is another interesting review of BAD MOON RISING:

http://www.gorenfeld.net/book/

Given all the research you have already done on the occult and the New Age, I apologize in advance, Dorothy, if you have already seen any or all of this material.

You asked what we should do. Well, since they are trying to deprive us of our God we should do all we can to deprive them of their "god," the ALMIGHTY BUCK!

Just went through most of the comments and must say this is fascinating stuff! I also feel better now that I know I am not crazy in having changed my political parties back and forth over the last 10 years because I simply can't figure out which party is worse! The influence of the New Age is so wide spread that it's staggering for someone like myself to try to figure out which way to turn anymore. I'm actually reluctant to even go to church any more! Dorothy made an interesting comment when she said that only academicians can get access to the heart of the New Age matter. So what is an inquisitive dumb-dumb like me supposed to do?Just pray I guess, and try to keep a sense of humor.

Constance -Love your blog although I must admit I have been pretty dumbed up by the media and had NO clue to what has REALLY been going on in the world. The world I thought was DOES NOT exist and the world that DOES is not a world I want to be a part of.....

ANY way - if people are on to the government and on to what it is that they government is doing....why aren't WE christians confronting the situation WITH the governments/powers that be???

I read the Daily Kos article and the chart. It brought to mind this article about Nicolo Machiavelli and his relevance to modern Christians. I am concerned that Christians are vulnerable to manipulation by both the right and the left.

http://procinwarn.com/machiavelli.htm

Ingrid at Slice of Laodicea has a link to an article in which Brian McLaren is supporting Senator Obama. There have been many articles of late regarding evangelicals leaving the Republican Party for the Democratic Party. Young Grasshopper, you are wise to be leary of both parties and anyone who would seek the mantle of national or internationl leader.

It is an interesting exercise to assess political leaders from both parties vis a vis The Prince. Most of us had to read it college. Reread it with particular leaders in mind. Even some of our "Christian" leaders.

Susanna, I've seen most of it. I started a file on the Moonies in the '80s when I was researching cult activity. It's good that you posted it for those who are not aware of the Moon network.

My question was a serious one. If a person has a goal as to what they want to do with the information, they will continue to research and it just doesn't become a troubling matter. All along my goal was to try to warn members of the Jewish community who would not be reading Christian material warning them about the NA movement.

What I was hoping for is suggestions from readers as to what the possible goals could be. Are you writing letters? Are you warning your children? Are you calling in to talk shows? Have you printed something up to share with others? Are you sending things to an email list? Even using the information to do missionary work to get others to become Christians would be a goal. Each person has to find their own goals.

Everyone reading here or any other place where there is information about the NA movement has been given a gift from God to be used wisely. Don't want until you think you know all there is to know. That time will never come as new organizations appear, old ones change their names, new faces appear, new themes appear.

For those who say I don't know what I can do, I would hope others here will help you find a goal.

I didn't mean to sound flip, but I was serious. All the things you are suggesting are great, but it is also important not to give money to organizations that we might suspect of serving as front organizations for New Age cells.

A couple of days ago I was listening to news on the radio. The report said the US stock market was taking a hit based on report by a Canadian financial analyst in which he predicted oil rising to 200/barrel. The report further stated that meant $6.00+ per gallon at the pump. The consequence of this was to be a radical change in the US with an estimated 10 million cars coming off our roads.

I looked up the report. It's referred to in this WSJ article.

http://tinyurl.com/6ehcrg

I asked myself why a Canadian financial analyst reporting on the oil industry would make such an impact. Then I remembered Maurice Strong's background in the oil industry in Canada. you can read a brief bio about him here:

http://www.afn.org/~govern/strong.html

I tried to find a connection between CIBC World Markets and Maurice Strong but haven't yet. Though he is so well connected in Canada, it could be through an intermediary.

Call me paranoid, but I can't help thinking there is some connection there. Remember the articles about suburbs being untenable?

Well, here is another.

"John Zogby, a political pollster, said the findings added up to a "broad cultural change" which translated into millions of people considering a major transformation in their lives. .....But as people concluded that high energy prices were here to stay, "this is now one of those big changes in our lives that requires nothing short of dramatic lifestyle changes," he said......Transportation is now the second biggest household expense in the US after housing. Much of the new demand for city homes is in neighbourhoods close to light railway stations, hastening the move away from a car culture.

http://tinyurl.com/4v5rkl

Remember Maurice Strong's quotes about suburban, middle class life being unsustainable? Was he a prophet or was he bringing this about?

I feel as if we are living in a movie - the script was written years ago and we know how the movie will end. I don't understand how people can mock the bible and say it's just a story when the prophecy's of days past are unfolding in our eyes. I don't even want to read the paper or watch the news because I feel I am losing brain cells by reading somebody's version of the "truth" when the real TRUTH is being omitted. I don't even know if I can trust my church for the real TRUTH anymore.

I haven't personally come across any Moonie fronts since my brother, who happens to be a cop, made it "expedient" for them to leave town several years ago by arresting them for selling without a license every time they went from door to door with bogus bait and switch offers of "free stuff" and then wouldn't take a powder until their victims ponied up $$$.It all started when they had the misfortune to ring HIS doorbell! By the time he got done with them, it was costing their "grand poohbah" an arm and a leg to have to come and pay their fines, legal expenses, etc. The D.A. in the neighboring city was especially helpful. Word got around to the surrounding communities and as far as I know, no one has seen hide nor hair of them in a dog's age.As for me, I only support charities sponsored by my own church that I KNOW are on the up and up......plus I listen to my brother. :-)

If I truly thought she wanted to end hunger and that was the end game of those in her movement, I would have said less. However, I have read enough New Age literature to know their end game was the elimination of non-Aryan races and peoples. If you are a blonde haired, blue eyed pagan, the "New Age" might be advantageous for you for a time and a season. If you are anything else, reading the New Age literature at face value, you are in VERY DEEP TROUBLE. The end game of Unification Church and its operants in my opinion is NOT feeding the hungry. The end game is CONTROLLING THE FOOD to the hunger and starvation of millions even billions more.

Susanna, Great minds work in the same direction!!! I posted this in September of 2006. It was one of the comments following Constance's story on Moon that she linked to earlier in this thread.

"Take a list at this list of Moon's front groups and you will see where the money is coming from.http://www.freedomofmind.com/resourcecenter/groups/m/moonies/front_groups.htmor http://tinyurl.com/2nyhm"

I lived in Kansas City for several years and so this gal is really up-to-date.

I liked the story about your brother. I may have to go through your links again to discover how he recruits people for those mass marriage ceremonies. There was a mention of a joint one with Farrakhan people, but not how the participants were recruited.

Stallings was very active in the Afro-centric movement which is a part of New Age. Here's a list of Afrocentric bookstores.http://tinyurl.com/638otm

To Dorothy regarding her comment about doing what we can to warn people...Something really creepy happened to me a few weeks ago. I was researching the subliminal seal on the background of Obama's website and I became convinced it was a phoenix. I started doing more research and came across a book on Amazon called Phoenix Rising- No Eye's predictions of events that are to come. I ordered the book on line along with 2 others that were totally unrelated to the new age. I paid for all 3 books at once in the Amazon check-out. A few days later I rec'd an email that the owner of the Phoenix Rising book was refusing to honor the order because the bank had rejected the charge. This was a lie, I knew, because the charge had gone through on the other two books which I'd already received. By coincidence, I ordered this book the very same day that I started my blog and did a post about Obama's seal and the possible Phoenix/ occult connection. The very same day, I also received a hang-up call from Phoenix, Arizona. I traced the number through google and others have been harrassed by these people as well. Some people have received the word 'Homeland' on their caller Id, though I rec'd the words Phoenix, Arizona. I also write about the other strange occurrences that have happened to me since I started my blog at my post here:http://tinyurl.com/6n27hd

I was struck by the fact that Rich Peterson of Time, Times and Half a Time had a similar thing happen to him when he tried to order Hubbard's book, Happy Birthday Planet Earth. The link to that very important article is here: http://tinyurl.com/3qw35f

Anyway, I came to the conclusion that these people have a tight network and they KNOW immediately somehow, whether or not you are a Christian. Once they find that out, they are not willing to share information with you.

Last week I had lunch with an artist friend and a Jewish girlfriend. Both of them are into New Age garbage like mercury retrograde. I ended up telling them what had been happening to me since i started my blog and recounted the story of the Phoenix book I couldn't get. To my total shock, the artist friend asked me the name of the author and when I told her she then told me that she KNEW Mary Summer Rain and her husband through her past. She told me that Mary Summer Rain learns what she does through channeling and that she is heavily into the new age and living in Phoenix now. My friend admitted to me that she once held seances and did channeling herself but that she became filled with bad spirits out to harm her and to go through a lot to get rid of the pervasive "badness". She no longer does those things although she still reads books like "The Secret". I could tell both friends were visibly disturbed by my story- hopefully enough to think long and hard about what they have been into. I think that all we can do is lay seeds here and there and allow God to bring them to fruition.I also chanced upon a New York Times review of the Harry Potter Order of the Phoenix book, and I was shocked (not being a Potter reader) to discover how similar the reviews of both the Potter book and the Phoenix Rising book were in terms of content. It appears that the New Age is targeting young readers to perhaps condition them to what is going to happen to their Christian friends and family members. You can read the review for the Potter book here:http://tinyurl.com/69r4kq and the review for the Mary Summer Rain book here:http://tinyurl.com/6rkbj9

In retrospect, I'm glad I didn't receive the book as now I can probably figure out what was in it.

Thanks so much Susanna, for reminding me of that beautiful psalm. It blessed me!

"Dorothy made an interesting comment when she said that only academicians can get access to the heart of the New Age matter. So what is an inquisitive dumb-dumb like me supposed to do?Just pray I guess, and try to keep a sense of humor."

And my response to you, Young Grasshopper...don't sell yourself short. Number one, I don't believe for a single second that 'only academicians can get access to the heart of the New Age matter'. Anyone who wants to read about it and learn about it can do so. No one here is any 'smarter' or 'dumber' than anyone else. We each have our unique qualities and interests, background, areas of expertise, inclinations, experiences...Some people know lots about some things in some areas and little in others, it just all depends upon the life you have lived and are living and what comes into it and what you've learned along the way. And because of that we can all learn from each other, there's no need to feel that anyone is any better or any smarter or any 'dumber' than anyone else. :-)

And:

"Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth." Matthew 5:5, KJV Actually, I like that whole chapter of Matthew 5. (smile!)

......According to the Post account, the dedication service mixed Catholic liturgy and African dancing and chanting--punctuated by Stallings dancing on the altar and with congregants in the aisles. Present at the dedication and offering support for Stallings were representatives of the Louis Farrakhan-led Nation of Islam and the Inner Light Unity Fellowship, a predominantly gay congregation. Washington Mayor Sharon Pratt Kelly called Stallings "our own black Moses," the Post said....read more...

http://tinyurl.com/6be6g7

Here is a "blast from the past." Do you remember the Marion Barry trial?

THE RIGHT TO ATTEND A TRIALJuly 10, 1990 New York Times

.....LEAD: The trial of the District of Columbia's Mayor, Marion Barry, on drug and perjury charges brims with racial tension. The judge made matters worse by barring two prominent supporters, the Rev. Louis Farrakhan, the Black Muslim leader, and Bishop George Stallings Jr., a former Catholic priest who heads a breakaway congregation.

The trial of the District of Columbia's Mayor, Marion Barry, on drug and perjury charges brims with racial tension. The judge made matters worse by barring two prominent supporters, the Rev. Louis Farrakhan, the Black Muslim leader, and Bishop George Stallings Jr., a former Catholic priest who heads a breakaway congregation. They had denounced the trial as a racist, political lynching. But as the U.S. Court of Appeals rightly says, they may not be kept from attending the trial on that account....read more...

http://tinyurl.com/5m44be

TIME

THE BLACK REJECTIONISTSBy Charles Krauthammer July 23,1990

http://tinyurl.com/3jzu2k

GEORGE STALLINGS: MOON OVER IMANIhttp://tinyurl.com/4egl9s

COULD IT BE LOVE?http://tinyurl.com/4gtw47

ORIGINS OF THE UNIFICATION CHURCH (CESNUR)http://tinyurl.com/3v7487

BOOK REVIEW- FALSE DAWN by Lee Penn

http://tinyurl.com/4x9gwvhttp://tinyurl.com/5qqzrm

REV.MOON REACHING OUT TO AFRICAN-AMERICAN MINISTERShttp://tinyurl.com/63k42p

Lynn said: "No one here is any 'smarter' or 'dumber' than anyone else. We each have our unique qualities and interests, background, areas of expertise, inclinations, experiences...Some people know lots about some things in some areas and little in others, it just all depends upon the life you have lived and are living and what comes into it and what you've learned along the way. And because of that we can all learn from each other, there's no need to feel that anyone is any better or any smarter or any 'dumber' than anyone else. :-)"

I say AMEN to that. One more thing I would add......I forget who said this but I will never forget what was said:

At the end of the day, "it is better to know little and love much than to know much and love little."

Hold on there Lynn. My point was that those in the academic community who research the "spiritual" end of the New Age movement have a body of references which enables them not to have to plow the same fields over and over again. If someone writes about a group in Arizona or in France for instance, others don't have to go back and do the same research from scratch. They know what was written about in 1993, 1994, 1995 etc. by others.

We don't have that same kind of community of researchers. No one has access to what I've shared over the last 26 years except those I shared it with during that time. No one posting here research that takes much effort knows if it will have any value when the next thread is started.

There are others on the net who have also done solid research, but we access their work by chance, not by looking at a bibliography done at the end of an academic paper.

The good part is that no one can come in and control the information output. Even after all of the years I've put in, I don't have all of the answers as to the best way of fighting New Age. That's why I'm willing to listen to the input of others. It's not a competitive matter. We need to work together in some way just as the academics do, but I don't know how that can be.

Thanks Susanna, as I said, I'm familiar with the material. I've worked very hard to know what I've learned. At a certain point in time you will see that the huge amount of information you've accumulated must be turned from details into information. Information is the conclusions you've reached based on the details you've accumulated.

Ever notice how bland and disinterested and even off base the so called "academics" are. They spend multidudinous hours wrestling words to the satisfaction of their fellowship funding propagandists with pre-set agendas. With all due respect to Dorothy to whom much respect is due, we learned little to nothing about the New Age Movement from that self-congratulatory crowd. The initials "B.S.", (we all know what that is), M.S. (more of the same) and Ph.D. (piled higher and deeper) are reflective of what they delivered to us on the New Age Movement with the rare exception of such writers as James Webb (who committed suicide at a very early age after no doubt experiencing feelings of hopelessness after making his academic discoveries with little or no "academic" support.

Much of the Ph.D. process is stifling. I suspect law school at least teaches one to honestly examine evidence and think for one's self!

"Much of the Ph.D. process is stifling. I suspect law school at least teaches one to honestly examine evidence and think for one's self!"

This may be true in some instances. It all depends upon the school.

Anyone ever read Aristophanes' comedy THE CLOUDS?

It is a very funny and irreverent satire/lampoon of "pretentious academia," (i.e. the sophists and intellectual trends of Athens in the late fifth century B.C.), which could apply just as well to our own time as it did to that of ancient Greece.

Long story short, the play opens with a citizen of Athens, Strepsiades (whose name, loosely translated, means slippery, deceptive, twisty, or scheming) who,after finding himself deeply in debt, "hits on what strikes him as a brilliant way to get out of his troubles, by forcing Pheidippides to enter Socrates' school and learn the unjust argument, which will allow for him to argue anything he wants successfully in court. When Pheidippides refuses to cooperate, Strepsiades is reduced to entering Socrates' school himself.

Thus, Strepsiades enters "the THINKERY" in order to learn how to argue in such a way as to make WRONG look RIGHT.

http://tinyurl.com/3zygtp

Here is an online version of THE CLOUDS along with a study guide for anyone interested.

Young Grasshopper, Lynn, Susanna - and I am certain most if not all others who know and love the Lord Jesus agree that we are all equal in His eyes, we are able to have the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ according to the Word and He knows and is in control ultimately, all things rhat He would want us to be aware of and know are at His disposal - we need to be obedient in the area of the battle we have been assigned to. This does not mean we become single minded on an attack front - but try to gain hold of the understanding He has put with in our reach through His servants like Dorothty, Constance and multitudes of others who come to the table with a piece of the puzzle. That puzzle pice may require a bit of honning that may come from some one elses insight that the Lord Jesus Christ has given them. This process can be not just hindered but shut down by self will and pride - oh, my gooodness, the same sins that caused Lucifer to fall.

If the academic community was such a silly thing, we wouldn't be using these computers. If all of us didn't believe in some level of organization, we wouldn't be sharing our information on the same blog. I may be wrong, but in the early '80s there was a level of organization in the conservative Christian community which allowed Constance's book to be publicized through speaking engagements, talk shows and Christian bookstores. Nothing much gets accomplished without some level of cooperation between individuals.

The NA movement grew over the decades because it was funded and networked, not because someone sprinkled pixie dust.

In the academic community the weakness is that individuals do not want to stick out their necks for fear of losing their prestige and professional positions, so they will stick to analyzing rather than judging. Academics do their research as their profession. They have access to libraries and archives. It's not that their brains are better than those posting here.

Here are examples of the work being done by academics. As I've written before, there has been almost no work done on the political end of the New Age movement.

Young Grasshopper has posted some very disturbing sections from Obama's book over athttp://the-obama-nation.blogspot.com/

http://www.serve.com/herrmann/ph.htm or http://tinyurl.com/68u5hqFor reasons you will see if you follow up, it appears to me there is a parallel with Obama's life and this man's early years. Go tohttp://www.serve.com/herrmann/main.htmlif you want to evaluate Herrmann's professional standing.

I was particularly struck by this comment, "This path even supplied me with three years of experience in electronics communication - both radio and TV. You see, I was learning how to use one of the most destructive weapons in the human arsenal - the human voice and the spoken word."

EUROPA - Audiovisual Service - VideoJavier Solana explained that even if the situation is not easy, .... extracts from the speeches by Condoleezza Rice, Nino Burjanadze, and Josette Sheeran ...ec.europa.eu/avservices/video/video_search_en.cfm?videoref=&StartRow=101&keyword=ministers&wi... - 86k - Cached - Similar pages - Note this

Question:And guess who appointed Josette Sheeran to the United Nations World Food Program?

Answer:Kofi Annan and Food and Agriculture Organization Director-General Jacques Diouf in November 2006. Sheeran began her tenure April 2007.

http://tinyurl.com/4smnd2

According to the Wikipedia article:

"Sheeran was raised in the Roman Catholic Church. She joined the Unification Church in 1975, and in August 1975 her father tried to "rescue" her and her two sisters (against their wishes) from the Unification Theological Seminary in Barrytown, New York by forcing his way in to see them. He failed, and the scuffle there led to mutual charges of assault.

She left the Unification Church about 1996 and became an Episcopalian. Sheeran's former membership in the Unification Church was raised in an Associated Press interview, where she said that she had no association with the Unification Church after she left the Washington Times in 1997. Other publications reported on this as well. In an article about Shiner's appointment to the World Food Program in The Washington Post, the newspaper reported that it was pressed by the George W. Bush Administration not to write about her past relationship with the Unification Church.http://tinyurl.com/4smnd2

Question:And guess who were among the chief suspects in the infamous oil for food scam......

Answer:Kofi Annan and his son Kojo:

http://tinyurl.com/39cwgnhttp://tinyurl.com/6ml54

Question:Guess who was quoted as saying the UN "should be destroyed or merged with the U.S.?"

Answer:Sun Myung Moon____________________

INNER CITY PRESS asked if Ms. Sheeran Shiner had been asked, by Mr. Annan or the other outgoing UN official who interviewed her, including Mark Malloch Brown and Jan Egeland, about her 20-year affiliation with Sun Myung Moon and for her position on his stated views, including that the UN should be destroyed, or merged with the U.S.."

http://tinyurl.com/59qa37

_______________________________

The following articles from the same INNER CITY PRESS link describe concerns in various quarters about Sheeran's "former" Moonie ties:http://tinyurl.com/59qa37

More interesting links:

SUN MYUNG MOON, SELF PROCLAIMED MESSIAH AND NEW U.N. LEADER?

Moon Moving In On United Nations?

"The Unification Church, the global enterprise of South Korean Rev. Sun Myung Moon (born Yong Myung Moon), may be attempting to take control of the United Nations through the all-but-certain election of South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General. Foreign Minister Moon is slated to be formally elected Secretary General on October 9 by the UN Security Council. Moon has already won four straw polls by the UN Security Council and is now considered a shoo-in to replace Kofi Annan."

http://tinyurl.com/3wtncp

BAN KI-MOON

Ban Ki-moon (born June 13, 1944, Korean: is the current Secretary-General of the United Nations. On October 13, 2006, he was elected to be the eighth Secretary-General by the United Nations General Assembly. On January 1, 2007, he succeeded Kofi Annan....read entire article....

http://tinyurl.com/y2hstj

MOON MOVING IN ON UNITED NATIONS?Thursday, 05 October 2006

http://tinyurl.com/5pa9kn

ARE THE MOONIES ATTEMPTING TO GAIN CONTROL OF THE UN?By Wayne MadsenOnline Journal Contributing WriterOct 5, 2006

(WMR) -- The Unification Church, the global enterprise of South Korean Rev. Sun Myung Moon (born Yong Myung Moon), may be attempting to take control of the United Nations through the all-but-certain election of South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon as UN Secretary General.

Foreign Minister Moon is slated to be formally elected Secretary General on October 9 by the UN Security Council. Moon has already won four straw polls by the UN Security Council and is now considered a shoo-in to replace Kofi Annan.

Some informed UN sources are concerned that Moon lists his religious affiliation as "non-denominational Christian," a code word often used by the "Moonies" for the Unification Church.

In addition, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and UN ambassador John Bolton are attempting to have former Washington Times editor Josette Sheeran Shiner become the next Executive Director of the World Food Program. Sheeran Shiner is a member of Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church. The term of the World Food Program Executive Director is five years. Shiner is currently the Under Secretary of State for Economic, Business and Agricultural Affairs...read entire article...

http://tinyurl.com/69swb6

The following is from Rick Ross's site. Recall the gifts given to Kim Il Sung by Sun Myung Moon

U.S. CANDIDATE FOR UN'S WORLD FOOD PROGRAM MAY GET LAME DUCK APPOINTMENT, DESPITE KOREAN ISSUES

"The reference to journalism is to Ms. Sheeran's tenure as managing editor of the Moon-owned Washington Times.

In that capacity, in 1992 Ms. Sheeran went on an 11-day visit to North Korea, leading up a feature article commemorating the 80th birthday of Kim Il-Sung's 80th birthday. "Even if the sky is falling down on us, there will always be a hole for me to rise up through," said Kim -- a sentence Sheeran-Shiner later recollected, as recounted by the American Prospect, as "this wonderful thing which I printed in the paper."

http://tinyurl.com/4fodfl

Here is an excellent 6/19/2006 article by John Gorenfeld from THE AMERICAN PROSPECT for anyone who hasn't already seen it:

Dear Leader's Paper Moon

The Washington Times considers North Korea a “gulag state.” But funny thing: The paper's owner considers it a great place to do business.

BTW, I did meet Kofi Annan -- in late December 1983 at the one CAUSA event I had the opportunity to observe before they discovered whom they had mistakenly invited and put me under house arrest! I met Kofi Annan at the even the night before -- I sat next to him at the breakfast. He did not have the power then that he was later to hold.

Some time ago, I don’t remember who, a comment caught my attention sparking an old memory; the following mental (I’m unsure of the connotation) exercise is the result. Those who have spent too much time reading this blog might want to skip this; however if you can get past my changing a very few words to mask the real author, you might find it interesting in describing some New Age thought, and the consequent origin, person and philosophy, of such thought.

“The foundation of Globalism is the conception of the State, its character, its duty, and its aim. Golbalism conceives of the State as an absolute, in comparison with which all individuals (Hillary learned the hard way) or groups are relative, only to be conceived of in their relation to the State. . . For us Globalists, the State is not merely a guardian, preoccupied solely with the duty of assuring the personal safety of the citizens; nor is it an organization with purely material aims, such as to guarantee a certain level of well-being and peaceful conditions of life, for a mere council of administration would be sufficient to realize such objects. Nor is it a purely political creation, divorced from all other contact with the complex material reality which makes up the life of the individual and the life of the people as a whole. The State, as conceived of and as created by Globalism is a spiritual and moral fact in it self, since its political, juridical and economic organization of the Global State is a concrete thing: and such an organization must be in its origins and development a manifestation of the spirit. The Global State is the guarantor of security both internal and external, but it is also the custodian and transmitter of the spirit of the people, as it has grown up through the centuries in language, in customs and in faith. The global State is not only a living reality of the present, it is also linked with the past and above all with the future, and thus transcending the brief limits of individual life, it represents the immanent spirit of the world. . . The global State which educates its citizens in civic virtue, gives them a consciousness of their mission and welds them into unity; harmonizing their various interests through justice, and transmitting to future generations the mental conquests of science, of art, of law and solidarity of humanity. It leads men and women from primitive tribal life to that highest expression of human power which is Empire: it links up through the centuries the names of those of its members who have died for its existence and in obedience to its laws, it holds up the memory of (those who have been the geniuses) who have illumined it with glory. . .”

Dorothy, you seem to have a “rebirth” in wit, wisdom, and contribution; sincerely, thanks.Rudi, you were gone for a while, but your return is an amazement to me; I’m ready to buy your book!All others have been brilliant; the postings are too much for me to keep up with, and I sometimes am concerned about that which I miss.Grasshopper, thanks for sticking with us.DouginMI, always short and sweet, but always rich.

And for those who feel isolated or alone I leave you with this thought.

There are those whose voices have found no other ear save that of God; it is enough. There are those by virtue of birth or propitious occasion to have a veil of deception about their senses, as to believe the lies that The Holy Judge will not hold them to account, that the balance of good or ill will settle the score, as only the ugliest Cross can, and will illumine the most beautiful love, the most freeing word, and the safest net of mercy.

The invitation came when my book, THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF THE RAINBOW had risen to #1 on the country's Christian bestseller list. Actually what had happened was that Marcus and Elaine Braun of Kansas City (Dorothy knew them too) were invited to an earlier event -- CAUSA was focusing on conservative Christians and political leaders. Elaine Braun watched it with horror and said to Marcus, "good grief, they're presenting the entire New Age agenda as a positive alternative to Marxism." There was a form to fill out at the end: "is there anybody we should invite." They filled out my name, address and phone number. I started to get letters from a Brigadier General E. D. Woellner inviting me to participate in an all expenses paid conference to be held at the Crystal Mariott in Crystal City, Virginia between Christmas 1983 and January 1, 1984.

When the invitation arrived, it rang a bell with me about Unification Church. I pulled a file I had where I had archived an article about the Moonies in Uruguay. The file referred to CAUSA, "the political arm of Unification Church" -- just about then, Elaine called me and told me she thought it was terribly important that I see what was going on with it -- when the CAUSA people then called me, I said yes, I would go but they would have to fly me out of Fort Wayne, Indiana where I was visiting family for Christmas and return me to Detroit. They agreed to the terms.

At the conference when they figured out who they had on their hands, Gen. Woellner and his wife started interrogating me on who had invited me -- I said, "you did."

The Joe Tully encounter was the next day -- I have talked about it many times on my radio program.

I sure am interested in more details. In fact, I am grateful for all the details you are willing to share.

This is just an aside, but as you are probably aware, I am a conservative (cradle) Roman Catholic and have been studying the occult and the New Age since the mid-1980's in terms of how it has infiltrated the Roman Catholic Church....with a special focus on the history of the occult revival in 19th-century France - which is partly the origin of the modern infiltration of the so-called schismatic "Gnostic Catholic Church" into the Roman Catholic Church - especially here in the United States.

The "Gnostic Catholic Church" is the ecclesiastical arm of O.T.O. and the Martinists.

http://tinyurl.com/ytr5fg

The reason why the Gnostic Catholic "clergy" sought valid but illicit ordinations was so that Catholics who had been excommunicated for joining any of the secret societies (i.e. Rosicrucians, Freemasons,Masonic or quaisi-Masonic entities) could receive the Sacraments. Needless to say, from a Roman Catholic point of view, receiving Holy Communion under such circumstances constitutes a grave sacrilege.

I have mainly focused on the religious side of the New Age Movement and am therefore rather new to the political situation. But I am trying to learn as quickly as I can, and am glad of all the help I can get.

If you ever need anything on the Roman Catholic situation, I would be only too happy to help you as well.

Efforts are underway to “enhance” the partnership between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbors.On March 13-14 2008 the European Council approved the principle of a Union for the Mediterranean and, “invited the Commission to present proposals defining the modalities of what will be called “Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean”.”On May 20th, 2008 according to this press release, the Commission adopted the proposals developed to “enhance” the partnership between the EU and its Mediterranean neighbors through the “Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean”.

http://tinyurl.com/6rwba6

Please also see:

http://tinyurl.com/5crk7l

Constance referenced this development in her June 8, 2008 blog article. The proposals contained in the Communication will be presented at the inaugural "Summit of Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean" in Paris on 13 July, 2008. This “new initiative” is NOT intended to replace the original Barcelona process, launched in 1995.”The Barcelona Declaration, and its acquis remain the cornerstone of the new initiative and its goals and cooperation areas remain valid.” The “new initiative” is envisioned to be an “opportunity” to compliment, strengthen, reinforce, and build on the successes of the existing European Neighborhood Policy. The following link is the June 5, 2008 European Parliament resolution on the Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean.

http://tinyurl.com/43777w

SO very interesting to me to watch this process as it unfolds. Six months ago we were reading about the opposition to French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s proposal for a Mediterranean Union by German Chancellor Angela Merkel and others, - primarily because of its exclusive nature. NOT surprisingly, last spring, compromise was reached, and the inaugural "Summit of Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean" will take place in Paris on July 13, 2008. NOT coincidentally, in my opinion, July 1, 2008, Nicolas Sarkozy begins his six month tenure as France has its turn at the European Unions rotating presidency. This should be an interesting 6 months for the EU, The Middle East, and the World in general. Hmmm… wonder if this Mediterranean Union plan has anything to do with the Black Sea Oil agreement? -Rudi

See: “Black Sea oil pipeline to start flowing by 2012“

http://tinyurl.com/2yb3lo

Hi Setterman- I always am happy when I see you have shared here. You have much to contribute, and your words of encouragement toall of us are a tremendous blessing. Thank-you. -Rudi

"O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee."Psalm 84:12

A little off topic and I don't know if it's been posted here before, but I found this article about the Vatican hosting a conference this fall in Vatican City titled “Scientific Insights into the Evolution of the Universe and of Life” over at Jewish Life Forward. Guest speaker will be Stephen Hawkings. The author of the article, David Klinghoffer says: "We’re left wondering how Hawking came to be invited to address a Vatican audience given his view, whose main interest lies in the way it undercuts religious faith."http://www.forward.com/articles/13034/

If I recall correctly, I think Hawkings was also the handicapped physicist with the nano technology in either "Angels and Demons" or the "Da Vinci Code" . His name also turns up today in a rather creepy article about black hole dooms day technology over in Lake Geneva getting ready to be launched in August. The technology was challenged by an American scientist in a court (and thrown out)as possibly incredibly dangerous to planet earth.I just keep thinking about Genesis and God's warning not to eat of the fruit of the tree of knowledge- sort of like this weekend's news of the poor kid who didn't listen to the warning signs and was decapitated at 6 Flags. (Bad analogy I suppose, but my head is pretty messed up lately.) The article about the creepy doomsday technology is here:http://tinyurl.com/5r3p9n

Again, off topic, but is anyone else able to get onto the Fulfilled Prophecy message board? I haven't been able to since last evening, and the owners didn't say anything about the site being down for maintenance or anything like that.

That article was a good find. It is OK for Catholics to explore various scientific theories as long as we are careful not to confuse theories with scientifically demonstrated facts.

On the link you posted it reads:

"Hawking’s view represents a daring revival of an ancient philosophical doctrine, associated with Aristotle, that the universe has no beginning. That much a fascinating 2006 article in The New Scientist makes clear."....

......An additional feature of Hawking’s scenario is that it eliminates any possibility of the universe having one particular beginning. Call it a point A, with point B being the present. As The New Scientist summarizes it, “In terms of the universe’s history, that means there is no point A. Like the surface of a sphere, the universe… has no definable starting point.”..........______________________________

What the Pope said was this:

"Hawking quoted the pope as saying, "It's OK to study the universe and where it began. But we should not inquire into the beginning itself because that was the moment of creation and the work of God."

The scientist then joked that he was glad John Paul did not realize that he had presented a paper at the conference suggesting how the universe began."

http://tinyurl.com/3npl5f

That the universe did or did-not have a beginning is not demonstrable knowledge. It is a matter of faith. This is why it is futile toinquire into the beginning of the universe itself.

It appears to me that David Klinghoffer may be deficient in his knowledge of Aristotle because it was Aristotle who presented the philosophical argument which defends the belief that the universe DID have a beginning.

This Aristotelian argument was among those that were incorporated into the natural philosophy section of the famous Summa Theologica by St. Thomas Aquinas.

The argument has to do with the impossibility in the actual physical world of an infinite magnitude or multitude (i.e. number).

While we can consider potential infinities in our minds by way of abstraction an actual magnitude or multitude cannot be simultaneously particular and infinite.....because it is always potentially possible to add "one more" to said magnitude or multitude.

http://www.newadvent.org/summa/1007.htm

Another important thing to consider is that the infinity of God is not one of "magnitude" or "multitude."

Just a thought here...but it seems to me that the less evidence there is for the latest "scientific revelations" - especially those that seem to place the existence of God in doubt, the more the "Galileo Case" gets trotted out.

All anyone has to do is to go to the history books to learn that Galileo was something of an arrogant blowhard who would have had the continuing support of high-ranking prelates if he had been willing to refrain from falsely presenting his theories as scientifically demonstrated facts.________________________

"Galileo's championing of Copernicanism was controversial within his lifetime. The geocentric view had been dominant since the time of Aristotle, and the controversy engendered by Galileo's presentation of heliocentrism as proven fact resulted in the Catholic Church's prohibiting its advocacy as empirically proven fact, because it was not empirically proven at the time and was contrary to the literal meaning of Scripture.[7]"

Thanks for responding, Mary. You mean you can access the forum and read the posts?

All I get is a 'sorry, this site is unavailable, please try again later' message.

I have written to the site administrators, but I will wait for your response before I comment further.

My ISP has deliberately blocked its users from a forum in the past, this being a forum that was critical of the ISP in question. When the ISP faced some criticism for doing this, it lifted the block. Hopefully this sort of thing is not happening again.

Susanna,Thanks for the additional information, though I must confess I am definitely not as smart as you and I'll need to digest it a while. I was born and raised a Catholic. I went to Catholic School as a child. I was really a very devout Catholic for many years, though reading Taylor Caldwell kind of jolted me out of my comfort zone when I was in my late 20's. I am not trying to tear down your religion, by any means. However, I must say that in 1994, when I encountered spiritual warfare against a new age Pagan engulfing my students (I had a very successful performing arts school and ballet company), I called the Catholic church (where I had taught catechism) to beseech their help and they refused to come to my house because I had not contributed to the latest Catholic Charity drive. That's how I ended up at an Assemblies of God church. The pastor of that church managed to get the demons out of my house, but I eventually left the Assemblies of God church around 2002 because I saw things that concerned me. In the 1970's I was part of the Charismatic renewal in the Catholic church. I was very excited. I went faithfully to the services, but became concerned in the 1980's when I went into their bookstore and saw nothing but literature about Joseph Campbell and his archetypes. I didn't understand it at the time- but I wasn't comfortable with it either. It was just a gut reflex. I am not saying that every Catholic church is deceived- but the church as I knew it as a child has changed considerably over the years and i no longer feel comfort there. I hope you know I am just trying to identify areas where Christians need to be vigilant. The pastor of my current church thinks Todd Bentley is OK. How do you tell someone you respect that you don't agree? Only with love! Anything I say here is only out of love for my fellow man. I truly do not wish to offend anyone and I hope I have not offended you!I am very confused about EVERYTHING right now, and I only come here to try to share knowledge and find truth.Peace,MAryanne

I've managed to get through to the forum via proxy server. They are making some changes to the website, so maybe it IS that, after all. Apparently other people are having problems with the website as well. I figured I should clarify, in all fairness to my ISP. Perhaps I'm being a little paranoid?? ;-

You have not in any way offended me, and I am certainly not any smarter than you.

I have probably just been exposed to more in the way of natural philosophy and sacred theology....thanks largely to my Irish grandmother who used to conduct her own American "hedgerow school" for her grandchildren out on her front porch.

I do not interpret your comments as tearing down my religion either.

Our experience as Roman Catholic Christians has simply been different, and I would be the last one to pass judgement on any religious choices made by you or anyone else.

You say you are confused about EVERYTHING. I will keep you in my prayers. I would not presume to give you advice except to say keep praying.

The main reason why I have mentioned that I am a conservative Roman Catholic is so that others here will understand the context of my comments in case they differ from what other people here happen to believe. I am certainly not out to "convert" anyone (only God can do that)or to trash anyone else's religious beliefs.

Again, when I discuss something specifically Roman Catholic, it is not to "convert" anyone. It is simply to share information with others who may not be Roman Catholic so that they will understand it. Understanding something is not the same thing as agreeing with it.

Many times, moreover, people are critical of what they THINK is the Roman Catholic faith instead of what the Roman Catholic faith actually is.

I never went to Catholic school. I attended public school and my mother taught me my Catechism at home (the old Baltimore Catechism).When I started first grade, I was only five. I was the "baby" of the class. My first grade teacher was Protestant and I loved her dearly. There was NO WAY that anyone would have ever been able to convince me that my dear Mrs. "B" was going to Hell in a handbasket just because she was Protestant.

In any case, I was NEVER brought up to think anything like that, and my parents were strict Catholics.

I later learned that there was a priest named Father Leonard Feeney who was excommunicated for putting his own heretical spin on "outside the church no salvation."

http://tinyurl.com/6zglla

The reason I got involved studying the New Age Movement and the history of the occult was because several people who were close to me had become involved in cults and the occult.

Two of them nearly died.

One nearly died from complications of anorexia that she developed while a member of a group that controlled nearly every moment of her waking life.

The other nearly died when she came close to committing suicide possibly as a result of occult involvement in which hallucinogenic drugs were used. I felt that the latter was demonic.

The two who nearly died parted company with the bad company they were keeping and are fine today. The one who had developed anorexia told me that the leaders of her group - prominent people - wanted to find out who I was because I had proven to her beyond a reasonable doubt that they were not what they pretended to be and successfully deprived them of one of their best "slaves." But she refused to tell them who I was.

This girl was a Baptist and she is a Baptist still. She didn't abandon her Baptist faith as a result of being my friend. She just abandoned the cult that she had gotten sucked into joining.

When all was said and done, I gave all the data I had gathered to the good priest who had been advising me so that he could use the information to warn others - especially after he was put in charge of the Newman Center at one of our local colleges.

For me, being a Roman Catholic has never meant that I was required to park my brains at the door before entering a Church. Neither has it ever meant that I was required to turn a blind eye to evil or error on the part of the clergy.

If I was often made to feel like a skunk at a lawn party after some of my letter - writing campaigns.....oh well.....as the Good Book says "No servant is greater than his master."

By the way, speaking of Todd Bentley, there is something similar going on in the Catholic camp vis a vis a priest named Father Fernando Suarez who claimed to have raised someone from the dead.

I came across this diagram (links below) of a 'New Aquarian Age' heirachy tree at http://www.erwm.com/. Does anyone know if this might be authentic? It seems kinda bizarre!!!

http://tinyurl.com/3mlbhzandhttp://tinyurl.com/4lnyud

---

I also came across a site by Andy and Berit Kjos that has some interesting and helpful articles ... maybe particularly so for anyone like me who is fairly new to trying to understand some of the NA/Global Society stuff a little better. :) Like Constance, Andy is a lawyer and the articles (I have so far read) have all shown research footnotes.

http://www.crossroad.to/

I hope someone can help me with the tree query ... and I hope the Crossroads site might be a little helpful to someone else too. :)

Hi Dawn- Thank you for what proved to be a VERY eye-opening, valuable video link. For those who haven’t seen the video, it is that of an adolescent girl making a speechbefore the delegates during the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio.The first time I watched the video I missed something very important. The second timearound, though, bells started going off when I heard the (at that time 12 year old) girl introduce herself. Her name is Severn Suzuki. Today at the age of 24, she incorporatesher married name and is known as, Severn Cullis Suzuki. Following that six minute 1992 speech, she received a standing ovation and became a frequent invitee to U.N. conferences. In 2002 she was appointed to, then U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan's Special Advisory Panel. She and members of the Skyfish Project (internet-based discussion group and website she co-founded in 2002- now inactive) brought their first project, a pledge called the "Recognition of Responsibility", to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August 2002.

http://tinyurl.com/6zec64

She is also one of the “environmental heroes” featuredIn, “ The Great Warming , a three-part television documentary on the devastating effect of climate change.”“The Great Warming has been endorsed by the National Council of Churches, Evangelical Environmental Network and the Coalition on Environment and Jewish Life”

http://www.thegreatwarming.com/index.html

Take a look at the sponsors and allies of the documentary.

http://tinyurl.com/6l86ns

I was the most surprised to find her name and picture listed along with Mikail Gorbachev andMaurice Strong, as a EARTH CHARTER COMMISSION MEMBER.

http://www.earthcharterinaction.org/who.html

Her father is Dr. David Suzuki, an award-winning scientist (geneticist), environmentalist and broadcaster and co-founder of David Suzuki Foundation, where, another surprise,(not!) on the list of Honorary Board Members we find Maurice Strong.

http://www.davidsuzuki.org/About_us/Board_of_Directors.asp

http://11thhouraction.com/ideasandexperts/davidsuzuki

There is much more information documenting the many areas that Severn and her family are very closely linked with other prominent and familiar new age/earth worshiping personalities.Anyone interested in reviewing additional information should do some googling. You won’t be bored. -Rudi

It seems that Constance understands the difference between a "fundamentalist by not listening" (FBNL) and a "fundamentalist by absolute truth" (FBAT).

Some Catholics and a greater percentage of Protestants appear to be FBNL - the bad type of fundamentalism.

Ultimately, we must be willing to listen to truth and accept this truth as it is revealed (FBAT). Nothing God created is illogical - there is no contradiction in Christianity. (Though it may seem like a contradiction for a time - but the ram will be provided for the sacrifice)

Catholics who believe in the authority of the Bible and a hierarchical structure are no different than Sarah, Abraham's wife, really.

She called her husband her "master" even when he did some very wrong things. God protected her for her submission, even by sending an Angel to threaten the Egyptian Pharaoh with death if he touched her.

Similarly, God protects his children, Catholic or otherwise, when they have an attitude of submission and FBAT.

Along with her interest in the Democratic Party, Johnson is one of the driving forces of a New Age website called "Indigo Dawn," a name which, according to the site, was given to Johnson during a meditation vision.

"She decided to explore the New Age community more, and after taking a course in Reiki healing, experiencing past-life regression along with direct guidance from her spirit guides, she confirmed that her destiny was to help bring about the New Age on Earth," Johnson's online biography states. "Joy shared her vision with her husband, Joe; as a result the Indigo Dawn was founded to raise the vibration of energy on Earth."

Rudi,Very interesting video of Severn Suzuki online called "Change". The word that comes to mind is metamorphosis, which is the title of one of David Suzuki's books. Deepak Chopra talks about these themes on his site Alliance for a New Humanity.

I am in a hurry and am willing to stand corrected if i am mistaken, but this Florida Family Forum, Inc. seems connected in some way with Dennis Lawrence Cuddy, Phd. who writes for News With Views. He has done many articles on the new Age. I think he and Constance Cumbey are acquainted.

I didn't yet get to read any of his books, but an author named Michael Burleigh seems to be someone who can write books worthwhile reading. I take it his usual focus is on "politcal religion". If anyone has read any of his stuff, and if it is really worthwhile, let me know.

Thanks Anonymous 2:27 for calling our attention to Michael Burleigh. His last book looks very interesting according to the reviews at Amazon. I'm going to check out the book through the library and then maybe buy it used.

If you like Michael Burleigh's work, I think you would also enjoy Jonah Goldberg's book "Liberal Fascism". It is NOT a polemic on Liberalism. Rather it's a historical look at the philosophic underpinnings of today's liberalism. Much like Burleigh's "Sacred Causes", Goldberg sees the totalitarian systems of Europe creating a new religion of the state.

Dawn linked to a WND article about communists and socialists supporting Senator Obama. (About which, Goldberg's book speaks volumes.) But there is another WND article about homeschoolers in Germany. This should concern all people, not just homeschoolers, because a great many liberals in the US are opposed to homeschooling for the same reasons, such students are outside the government's ability to indoctrinate.

In the German case the government said: "..the education authority is in conversation with the affected family in order to look for possibilities to bring the religious convictions of the family into line with the unalterable school attendance requirement."

Rather than accept the parent's religious convictions and parental rights, the German governmment is trying to "bring them in line with the government."

"Everything in the State, nothing oustide the State, nothing against the State." Mussolini

The WND article by Dawn, the other one regarding homeschoolers are related to the books by Burleigh and Goldberg because they make convincing arguments that communists, socialists, fascists, Nazis, and liberals who would deny homeschooling on the basis of not wanting to "create a parralel society" - are all co-religionists. It matters to all of us who are not.

Thanks to Farmer, Rudi, Dawn, Jazzy, Dorothy, and others participating actively on radio program today (yesterday, just looked at clock as I am leaving my office at 1:12 a.m.! Farmer's been asleep for hours!

Hello,I could really use a little help here and there are so many knowledgeable folks here that I hope you won't mind if I ask.Having been raised a Catholic we never really studied the bible in depth- just Catholic cathechism. After I left the Catholic church I studied the new testament on my own, but I find the old testament hard to understand whenever I try to read it. Can maybe Dorothy or Joyce or someone lead me to passages in the bible or books (that are safe to read!) that could help me understand the old testament better? I have been reading Kings and chronicles lately and it seems that after Solomon sinned with other gods and many wives in his latter years- God's promise to David changed and He divided Israel into 2 tribes? How do they mesh with Christianity? Are Christians part of Judah? It appears that they trace Jesus' lineage to David and through the tribe of Judah through Joseph, but he wasn't really Jesus's father! I am really confused and I have been reading books lately where I am trying to gain more knowledge but I just get more confused! I don't want to take up anyone's time here, but if there is a book I can read that makes the old (and connection to new testament) a little easier to understand, I'd really appreciate it, since I am positive we are in the end times. Thanks so much!

Young grasshopper,You are right in saying the kingdom of Israel was divided into 2 nations after Solomon died.

1Kings 11:30-31Then Ahijah took hold of the new cloak which was on him and tore it into twelve pieces. He said to Jeroboam, “Take for yourself ten pieces; for thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I will tear the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon and give you ten tribes

This became the Northern Kingdom or the House of Israel or Ephraim. It is referred to sometimes this way because Jeroboam was from Ephraim.

Judah, which was comprised of Judah, Benjamin and part of Levy stayed under Solomon's son, Rehoboam. They were later referred to as "Jews". The Northern Kingdom was never called Jews and was scattered in the Assyrian exile, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Hosea and Genesis 48:19, when Israel told Joseph that his son Ephraim would become the "melo hagoyim" the "fulness of the nations" or the multitude of nations. The Northern Kingdom "lost" their identity, but they are not lost to God.

The first followers of Yeshua were from Judah. As the gospel went out to the nations we must assume that those from Ephraim or the Northern Kingdom who were within the nations may have been touched by the gospel too, thus fulfilling Romans 11:25: For I do not wish you to be ignorant, brethren, of this secret — that ye may not be wise in your own conceits — that hardness in part to Israel hath happened till the fulness of the nations may come in;

I used the Young's literal tranlation because the word "ethnos" is correctly translated "nations" which allows us to tie the verse back to Genesis 48:19. It's the same expression "fulness of the nations".

When I began reading the Bible many years ago, I started in Genesis. It's easier to understand a story if you start at the beginning. God did not make "testaments". He made covenants with His people and there are more than 2, so personally I don't like the way the Bible has been broken up into Old and New. That was done years later and was not from the original writers of the Bible. The newer covenant is when God writes His Torah on our hearts because Yeshua has now cleansed our sins at the throne in heaven ( instead of in the Temple or Tabernacle). God does not cancel His covenants with Israel, so this is important to remember. He improves the covenant by making it a "one time for all". The blood of bulls and goats cannot be compared with the precious blood of Yeshua, which is effective for cleansing sin one time for all. By the way, this doesn't mean that animal sacrifices will not come back, but they will have a different purpose. They will not be for the remission of sin. Yeshua did that once and for all.

Remember that from the beginning the nations were welcome to join themselves to Israel. This is what the story of Ruth teaches us, among other things.

It's better to start reading the Bible than books about the Bible. Just ask God to lead you in truth as you read it and READ THE TEXT CAREFULLY, using lexicons for Hebrew and Greek asking yourself questions like who, what, where, when, why as you read. God can speak to you through His Word.

The subject of Yeshua's genealogy is a little complicated, but it is shown in both Matthew and Luke. Luke is through Miriam ( Mary) and follows strict halacha i.e. it doesn't mention the women, it also bypasses the curse of Jeconiah, which Matthew's genealogy does not. Remember both lines are davidic.

The word "Christian" was originally used to insult the followers of Yeshua. It only appears 3 times in the Bible. While the original followers of Yeshua were Jewish and remained part of the community, as the gospel went to the nations it was removed from its original Jewish context. This is a very complicated subject and today with discoveries of the Dead Sea scrolls and other documents, we understand more about it than in the past.

One day, Israel will become 1 nation again. For the moment it's still divided, but the promise of Ezekiel 37:15-28 will be fulfilled and Yeshua will reign over all of us as one "called out people".

That is too bad that you never studied the Bible much as a Catholic, since the Bible is part of the Catholic Rule of Faith. But I am sure that you are not the only cradle Catholic who has never read the Bible from cover to cover.

Fortunately, this was not my experience, and although I do not in the least pretend to be a Bible "expert," I am nevertheless willing to share what I have learned, and if anyone has any other information to share, that would be just great!

I hope you find the following helpful.

With regard to the genealogy of Jesus, in the Bible, we are given Jesus' genealogy through Joseph because Joseph was Jesus' legal father.

"A person could become a member of a clan without actually being born into it. One way was by adoption. Another was to be born of a woman who was married to a man of that clan. Even when the husband was not the child's biological father, he was still officially the legal father, simply because he was husband to the child's mother."

http://tinyurl.com/3gesw5

The following is in agreement with what has just been quoted.

http://tinyurl.com/6rgldf

The following from the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod:

Mary's Lineage

Q. Jesus was to come from the house of David. I see references in the Bible to Joseph of that lineage; I can't find references to Mary's being of the house of David. Are they there?

A. While there is no specific reference in Scripture to Mary's Davidic lineage, it is assumed that Mary was of Davidic ancestry because (as attested by historians such as Eusebius) the Israelite tribes were not to intermarry. Thus, Matthew's genealogy would apply to Mary as well as to Joseph. (See, e.g., the article by Dr. Paul Maier on "New Light on the Nativity" in the December 1999 issue of The Lutheran Witness.)

http://tinyurl.com/5f9bce

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The following explains the conditionality of God's Covenant with David. Like Saul, David sinned. But unlike Saul, David humbly repented.

True, Solomon, in whom God's promise was partly fulfilled, sinned with magic, women and strange "gods," as did other kings of the Davidic line but God's promise was to be completely fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, who would reign forever.

http://tinyurl.com/6qmkwo

"THE PROMISE TO DAVID"

"In the Psalms David says that God had made a special promise to him. 'The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David, he will not turn from it. Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne' (Psalm 132 v 11).

'David, when his kingdom was established and the nation was at peace, wanted to build a temple or a house of worship for God. The prophet Nathan was sent to David to tell him that although God did not want him to build a house, God would establish David's royal house, and one in his royal line would rule over his kingdom for ever:

'And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. 'He shall build an house for my name, and I will stablish the throne of his kingdom for ever'.......'And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever' 2 Samuel 7 v 12-13 & 16.).

There are three important points in these verses:

The promise did not refer to Solomon, David's son, because God said that the 'throne of his kingdom' would be established for ever. Although Solomon was noted for his riches and for his wisdom, he certainly did not reign for ever. In verse 14 Nathan the prophet tells David that God would be the father of this great king who would come in his line. We read God says: 'I will be his father, and he shall be my son' (2 Samuel 7 v 14).

The king would rule on David's throne (2 Samuel 7 v 12).

God declares that He will bring it to pass (2 Samuel 7 v 12).

And here:

"The Tricky Twists and Turns of God's Promise to David"

......One of the nicest things about God’s commitments is that there’s no fine print. It doesn’t take a legal team with a stack of degrees in contract law to figure out the terms. The duration of the commitment is clear cut. You’ll find it in the final word of the passage cited above. Yes, just one word...forever! Seriously? Evidently. It’s reiterated twice for emphasis (2 Sm 7:16).

This promise wasn’t a gift to David for his unfailing sinlessness. Oh my, no! By this time in his career, David had done a great deal more with his hands than strum the strings of a harp. His many military campaigns had left his hands stained with a number of people’s blood. Still, a thousand years later in a sermon at Pisidian Antioch, Paul refers to God as saying, “I have found David, son of Jesse, to be a man after my heart who will carry out all my wishes” (Acts 13:22b). David made many mistakes prior to receiving God’s promise and went on to make even more grievous ones thereafter, but one trait that endeared him to God was his humility.

David, like most kings of his day, was an absolute monarch, answerable to no one. Humility was not high on the list of such rulers’ attributes. David, on the other hand, harbored no illusions about himself. When he was wrong (which was often), he admitted it, asked forgiveness, and tried not to repeat the offense. When even a king was small and insignificant, he acknowledged that as well. Following Nathan’s declaration of God’s promise of an unending dynasty, David went off to spend time before his Lord in prayer. “Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that you have brought me thus far?”....read more....

http://tinyurl.com/6gtkk7

More on god's Covenant with David:

http://tinyurl.com/3uxanx

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The first Christians were mostly Jews who became followers of Christ.

"The first known usage of the term Χριστιανός (khristianos) can be found in the New Testament, in Acts 11:26: "the disciples were called Christians first in Antioch." The term was thus first used to denote those known or perceived to be disciples of Jesus Christ. In the two other New Testament uses of the word (Acts 26:28 and 1 Peter 4:16), it refers to the public identity of those who follow Jesus. The earliest recorded use of the term outside the Bible was when Tacitus recorded that Nero blamed the "Christians" for the Great Fire of Rome in AD 64."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian

Apart from the relatives named in Jesus' genealogy, while many may have been of the tribe of Judah and Benjamin (which was all but absorbed into Judah) I don't think it can be known with any certainty which tribes ALL the first Christians were from - except perhaps in the case of some of the Apostles who happened to be mentioned in the New Testament and those first Jewish followers of Christ who may have preserved the oral tradition - because, according to Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History, Herod burned all the records.

The Northern Kingdom of Israel - which came to be called Samaria - formally parted company from Judah and was basically cut off from Judah around the time of the Maccabean War of Independence. By the way, Antiochus has been traditionally considered a type of "antichrist."

"Antiochus IV Epiphanes and hellenization

"In the second century BC a particularly bitter series of events eventually led to a revolution.

"Antiochus IV Epiphanes was on the throne of the Seleucid Empire from 175 to 163 BC. His determined policy was to Hellenize his entire kingdom and standardize religious observance. According to 1 Maccabees 1:41-50 he proclaimed himself the incarnation of the Greek god Zeus and mandated death to anyone who refused to worship him. A major obstacle to his ambition was the fidelity of the Jews to their historic religion.

The universal peril led the Samaritans, eager for safety, to repudiate all connection and kinship with the Jews. The request was granted. This was evidently the final breach between the two groups indicated in John 4:9, "For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." 2

Several centuries before the birth of Jesus, the Samaritans had built their own temple on Mt. Gerizim to rival the one in Jerusalem. Here, they offered sacrifices according to the Mosaic code. Anderson notes that during the reign of Antiochus IV (175-164 BC):.....read more....

http://tinyurl.com/phgoy

While the Books of the Maccabees are not a part of the Hebrew Bible which is the official Protestant Old Testament canon, they are included in the Septuagint, which is the official canon of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Catholic communions.

I just wanted to explain this in case you went looking for the Books of the Maccabees in your Bible and couldn't find them.

There were also blood relatives of Jesus among the early Christians who were called "desposyni." They are said to have had a large part in the leadership of the Church - especially in the See of Jerusalem. References to the "desposyni" seem to have disappeared around the fourth century A.D. As Eusebius tells us in his ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY:

"For the relatives of our Lord according to the flesh, whether with the desire of boasting or simply wishing to state the fact, in either case truly, have handed down the following account...But as there had been kept in the archives up to that time the genealogies of the Hebrews as well as of those who traced their lineage back to proselytes, such as Achior the Ammonite and Ruth the Moabitess, and to those who were mingled with the Israelites and came out of Egypt with them, Herod, inasmuch as the lineage of the Israelites contributed nothing to his advantage, and since he was goaded with the consciousness of his own ignoble extraction, burned all the genealogical records, thinking that he might appear of noble origin if no one else were able, from the public registers, to trace back his lineage to the patriarchs or proselytes and to those mingled with them, who were called Georae. A few of the careful, however, having obtained private records of their own, either by remembering the names or by getting them in some other way from the registers, pride themselves on preserving the memory of their noble extraction. Among these are those already mentioned, called Desposyni, on account of their connection with the family of the Saviour. Coming from Nazara and Cochaba, villages of Judea, into other parts of the world, they drew the aforesaid genealogy from memory and from the book of daily records as faithfully as possible. Whether then the case stand thus or not no one could find a clearer explanation, according to my own opinion and that of every candid person. And let this suffice us, for, although we can urge no testimony in its support, we have nothing better or truer to offer. In any case the Gospel states the truth."

Eusebius, Historia Ecclesiae, 1.7.11,13-14

It is generally believed that the first gentile to be baptized into the faith was Cornelius.

Interesting discussions the last few days about socialism, liberals, etc.

Conservative = good, moral, Christian

Liberal = bad, secular, un-Christian.

I don't think so.

Capitalism can be just as wicked as some forms of socialism. Capitalism as it's practiced in our country today is arguably an extremely immoral philosophy that goes against many of God's laws.

There are plenty of families losing their homes because of illness an unemployment not because they were speculating on real estate. The pain is going to deepend and the damage to the social fabric will be irreperable.

Its easy to tune out and ignore these moral problems if your own family income is high and your future economic prospects secure.

The divide between the well-off and the not-so-well-off continues to deepen.

There are forms of socialism, and liberal ideals, that are in many respects quite moral and good.

Similarly there are aspects of conservatism that are wicked and immoral particularly in the realm of applied economics.

Dear Joyce and Susanna,Thank-you so much for sharing!Joyce you mentioned Young's literal translation, I think? what is that?I always worry about which version of the bible to read? Any recommendations? I had thought for the longest time that the King James version was the purest, now I think that was wrong.Thanks -you both again for your timely counsel and the time that you took to try to help me. Much digestion of your words will be necessary, though much of what has been said was already incredibly helpful! I need to start at the beginning and stop skipping around and wanting instant gratification!Love,Maryanne

I meant to tell you - but kept getting diverted - that I have read THE PRINCE.

And you are spot on in saying that Christians are vulnerable to manipulation by both the "RIGHT" and the "LEFT" - and that we should be leary of BOTH!

C.S. Lewis hit the nail on the head when he said in MERE CHRISTIANITY that when the devil sent evil, he sent it in pairs - of seemingly extreme opposites - so that when we see one extreme we can react to it by going to the opposite extreme......instead of choosong NEITHER.

Take extreme laissez-faire Capitalism and Communism, for example.(Insofar as our economy is anti-monopolistic, it is more or less a moderate form of Capitalism).

At the end of the day, what substantial difference is there between one regime in which the means of production are concentrated in the hands of a few "commissars" and another regime in which the means of production are concentrated in the hands of a few elite capitalists or fascists? It would appear that in either case the means of production wind up being concentrated in the hands of an elite few while the plight of the poor remains the same - except in cases where people have tragically felt themselves compelled to sell their consciences for bread.

When the old Soviet Union was still in play, a sardonic Slavic joke was said to be making the rounds to the effect that:

"In capitalism the domination of men by men prevails, but in socialism, it is just the other way around." :-)

Your post had not come up yet while I was composing my comments to Deannie, but you have made some very valid points.

Extreme monopolistic capitalism is no less evil than extreme communism. Neither is about "sharing the wealth." Both are about "controlling the wealth" and doling "the wealth" out only to those who are willing to "toe the party line."

I think Capitalism in this country may be heading in the direction of the "bad news" kind.

IMHO, there are some things that should not be subject to the whims of laissez-faire capitalism. Namely, food, clothing and shelter.....necessities required for survival in our earthly existence. With regard to the real estate market, moreover, I might not mind seeing a law passed against predatory flipping and speculation such as the one that exists in France. In France, I believe you have to own your house for five years before you can sell it for more than what you paid for it.

So as you can see, I basically have no problem with what you are saying strictly in terms of a more equitable distribution of wealth, as long as we are not talking about another "Workers Paradise" without reference to God.

The thing I fear about "social democracy" in Europe is that it might be just such a "Trojan horse" - especially if, in the end, it turns out to be implemented according to the Antonio Gramsci strategy of communist encroachments by way of infiltration of the various European cultural and religious traditions.

Anatoli Golitsyn warned us about something like this in his book NEW LIES FOR OLD.

Now I am very well aware that this could have been bogus - especially in light of the Yuri Nosenko revelations. But what if it is not?

http://tinyurl.com/4cwyqh

http://tinyurl.com/6rulqk

It was the late Father Malachi Martin who warned us about the Gramscian strategy in his book THE KEYS OF THIS BLOOD. In fact, he went to great lengths to discuss the work of Antonio Gramsci who proposed a plan for socialism that would attack the foundations of the West by infiltrating its various cultural and political organs.

http://tinyurl.com/3zh4ox

Wikipedia isn't always the best source for information, but I am only suggesting it as a starting point for further research if anyone is interested. Here are a couple of links.

I tracked down a link to NEW LIGHT ON THE NATIVITY by Dr. Paul L. Maier, the Russell H. Seibert Professor of Ancient Historyat Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo from the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod site.

Maryanne,Young's literal translation is just an extremely literal translation, but that doesn't mean it is always more accurate. Translation is an art and some versions do more word by word, others phrase by phrase. I speak another language besides English and can tell you that certain expressions lose something in translation at times. King James is not the most accurate translation. They are all flawed in one fashion or another. For my every day Bible I like New American Standard, but if I'm studying I check the lexicons, and not just one lexicon but several. I know Hebrew scholars who cringe at some of the English words used in our Bibles.

Even the Greek is not perfect. For example nomos means law. It can mean Torah ( which is much more than just law), civil law, the law of sin and death, but it's the only word in Greek that exists. Torah means law, teachings goal. Another words, there is not a word in Greek that accurately expresses the Hebrew concept of Torah, so Christians tend to view it as heavy and legalistic, where to a Jew the Torah is God's loving instructions.

The exile of Assyria which is discussed in Kings will explain how the Northern Kingdom was taken away, but Hosea explains the spiritual aspect. God considered that the Northern Kingdom committed spiritual adultery by worshipping the golden calf again, as well as the baals, etc. God said that the Northern Kingdom would become "not my people", but later on this is reversed and once again they "become a people" only through the blood of Yeshua when they are grafted back in. ( Romans 9:25 reiterates this and so does 1Pe2:10)

While the genealogy in Luke doesn't mention Mary by name, it mentions her by marriage and a legal genealogy would not mention the woman's name. This doesn't mean she's not in it. In the genealogy of Matthew, which makes the mention of Tamar, Rahab, Ruth and Bathsheba it is very interesting, especially since Tamar slept with her father-in-law, Rahab was a prostitute and Caananite, Ruth a Moabite, Bathsheba & David. etc. Kind of gives us all hope, when we see these imperfect women in Yeshua's genealogy.

The promise to Judah in the Genesis 49 was that the sceptre would not depart, so God would have someone on the throne of Judah forever and that would be Yeshua.

This is a lot to digest if you haven't studied all of this before, so don't sweat over it. Just go little by little and God will reveal things to you as you dig into His Word. It is truly Living Water which brings life. I had the same upbringing as you, even though my roots are Jewish, but it's never too late to study God's Word.

Thanks for your comments. My purpose isn't to villify the left. I think most people see the dangers of the extreme right in this country. We get a steady warning from multiple voices regarding President Bush and his extremist tendencies and religious proclivities. What I don't think is well understood is the extremist tendancies of "progressives" and their religious proclivities - although it should be abundantly clear to all who follow the New Age. My concern about both the left and the right is their trampling of individual liberties for a "higher good". We see this on the right with their enthusiastic support of the Patriot Act with terrorism as their excuse. But the left would encroach as badly under the guise of global warming. This is why I recommend rereading The Prince. It's interesting to see which leaders on both sides have learnt Machiavelli's lessons well.

I read your links on Antonio Gramsci. Doesn't this remind you of what has happened in the US since the 1960s? Berit Kjos has a book called "Brave New Schools" that documents how our schools are being used to transform the culture.

http://www.crossroad.to/text/1-books.htm

Goldberg's book documents the efforts by those on the left to indoctrinate children. Remember the article about homeschooling in Germany. Think it isn't happening here? Ask those in California if they're secure in their "right" to homeschool. Check out David Horowitz's site Students for Academic Freedom to see that indoctrination continues long beyond kindergarten.

http://www.studentsforacademicfreedom.org/

According to Goldberg, "Robespierre argued that only a "religious instinct" could defend the revolution from the acid of skepticism. But the revolutionaries also knew that before such faith could be attached to the state, they had to exterminate every trace of "deceitful" Christianity. So they embarked on a sweeping campaign to dethrone Christianity."

My point in posting on this topic is for others to see the hidden religion on the left. Goldberg makes the case, I think well, even those on the left who claim to be secular are religious. (Meaning those who don't openly espouse New Age religious sympathies.) It is a religion of the state.

Interesting that in England some recognize there is a New Age movement and that Obama is being pushed by New Agers. It's not a very informative piece and the writer has no idea of the scope of the movement, nevertheless that such a thought surfaces in the media is very interesting.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/jul/03/barackobama.uselections2008 or http://tinyurl.com/5uonhv

New age America is entranced by Obama's electoral auraOliver Burkeman The Guardian, Thursday July 3, 2008 Article history

The Gramsci links certainly do remind me of what has happened since the 1960's!

With regard to "deceitful Christianity," I can probably best describe the Roman Catholic situation by linking you to articles about the infamous communist, Bella Dodd, who, after her conversion to Christianity (she was baptized conditionally by the late Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen), describes how the communists actually infiltrated the Roman Catholic Church.

"But the revolutionaries also knew that before such faith could be attached to the state, they had to exterminate every trace of "deceitful" Christianity. So they embarked on a sweeping campaign to dethrone Christianity."

Did you see what the Hebertists and Robespierre tried to set up in the place of Christianity. the Thermadorian Reaction overthrew Robespierre on the excuse that he was trying to set himself up as "the Supreme Being" with the help of Catherine Theot and the apostate Dom Gerle. If you want some links, let me know. Dom Gerle was involved in bogus "prophecy" groups that led to the occult revival of the 19th century in France.

Thanks! I really enjoy your links and research. Constance's new info on the North Carolina couple is interesting. At the end of the post you see Joy encouraring others to join her in transforming society. I wonder if she was involved in education issues in her state. You should really read Berit Kjos book "Brave New Schools". It details how the New Age is transforming society through New Age teachings.

I love studying history and philosophy and seeing the progression of thoughts and how they change society.

Maybe you can help with a question. I've been teaching our children ancient history from a Biblical viewpoint. We studied ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, Phoenicians, Minoans, etc. Simultaneously, I began reading Constance's blog and read her book. It appears there was an explosion of occult in the West in the past 150 years. There seems to have been a growing fascination with the ancient mystery religions. The kids and I studied the Rosetta Stone. This explosion of mystery religions has happened since its discovery. Prior to this event, it seems to be knowledge held only by a few secret societies. Did the Rossetta Stone make this "hidden" knowledge available to the masses so to speak?

For example, check out this website that came to me unexpectedly through an unrelated group:

http://www.nccn.net/~wwithin/

It's called Earth Mysteries and Sacred Site Tours. The related links are interesting.

" It appears there was an explosion of occult in the West in the past 150 years. There seems to have been a growing fascination with the ancient mystery religions."

In Europe, this was due largely to the French Revolution which seems to have enabled the members of the "irrational underground" to start crawling out from under their hiding places.

The major occult groups were the Rosicrucians, the Martinists, the so-called "irregular" Freemasons, the O.T.O., the neo-gnostics.....

These were all modern forms of gnosticism.

It would take me too long to get into all of them here.

But briefly, Dom Gerle was involved with a Jansenist oriented "prophetess" of the Revolution named Suzette LaBrousse before he hooked up with Catherine Theot.

He was also "spiritual director" of a so-called neo-Johannite group whose "visionary," was a man called Loiseaut:

" Another was Loiseaut (q.v.), who formed a mystical society, which met in great secrecy, awaiting a vision of John the Baptist, who came to them to foretell the Revolution. The spiritual director of this circle was a monk named Dom Gerle (q.v.) one of the first mesmerists in Paris, who is said to have foretold the dreadful fame of Robespierre by means of Catherine Theot, his medium. He was expelled by the members of the circle, acting on the advice of one of their number, Sister Francoise Andre, who cherished a notion to preserve the crown for the future reign of Louis XVII., and thus gave rise to that multitude of stories connected with the so-called '' Saviours'' of the youthful " Capet." This sect, or a portion of it, became notorious under the leadership of Vintras (q.v.), when its meetings degenerated into the most dreadful debauchery. The appearance of Mile. Lenormand as a prophetess at the end of the eighteenth century may be said to close the occult history of that age. With the beginning of the nineteenth century we find the craze for magnetism rampant. In his works The Reform of Philosophy and Yes or No, Wronski pretended to have discovered the first theorems of the Kabala, and later beguiled rich persons of weak intellect into paying him large sums in return for knowledge of the Absolute. The Saviours of Louis XVII. were formally condemned in 1853 by the Pope as practitioners of black magic, but they in turn condemned the Pope, and their leader, Vintras, constituted himself Sovereign Pontiff, but he was arrested on the charge of roguery and after five years' imprisonment, found an asylum in England."

http://tinyurl.com/6f9quc

Loiseaut was succeeded by Thomas Martin, "the Prophet of Gallardon."Thomas Martin was succeeded by Eugene Vintras. One of Vintras' followers was the infamous Abbe Boullan.

In his book EVIDENCE OF SATAN IN THE MODERN WORLD (Tan Books) Msgr. Leon Cristiani refers to groups such as these as "modern forms of satanism."

The following is a link to Appendix III - the story of Thomas Martin de Gallardon - from the online version of Anatole France's THE LIFE OF JOAN OF ARC:

http://tinyurl.com/5wyjlk

Here is a link to the main Table of Contents:

http://tinyurl.com/5usrrd

Around the time of the death of Thomas Martin de Gallardon which was believed to have been under sinister circumstances, the so-called "Holy Alliance" was being established between Russia,Austria and Prussia.

http://tinyurl.com/5mtar5

The neo-Johannites (a.k.a. "Saviors of Louis XVII") wanted to infiltrate it and influence it and so they sent one of their seeresses -a Madame Bouche - to the Imperial Russian court of Emperor Alexander. But after eighteen months Madame Bouche was supplanted by another seeress - a Madame de Krudener - and Madame Bouche returned to France.

However, Madame Bouche's career didn't end there. She became the mentor of Thomas de Gallardon's replacement, Eugene Vintras whose sect was among the supporters of a pretender to the throne of France, Carl Wilhelm Naundorf, who claimed to be the "Lost King" Louis XVII.

About Me

As an active Michigan lawyer, I practice my profession primarily in Macomb, Oakland and Wayne counties of Michigan, USA (248-253-0333). Sometimes I do work in my old "stomping grounds" of our State Capitol, Lansing, Michigan on administrative, state law related matters, as well. I've enjoyed active and stimulating careers in government, politics, law and as a published and translated author. In the past, I have worked for the Michigan House of Representatives, the Michigan State Senate, and the City of Highland Park, Michigan. I'm the author of the first major critical book about the New Age Movement, THE HIDDEN DANGERS OF THE RAINBOW: The New Age Movement and our Coming Age of Barbarism (1983); A PLANNED DECEPTION: The Staging of a New Age Messiah (1986). Currently, I'm completing a volume about Javier Solana, the Barcelona Process, Israel and the European Union. Email me cumbey@gmail.com.